Monday, July 18, 2016

I've been quite busy with work and other things. Pokemon Go is a lot of fun, and helps me stay on target for getting plenty of exercise! I made a video today, taking a buzzfeed test and stuff.

Go give it a watch! I'll do a real video soon, with my face in front of a camera! Until then, please bear with me, as my life is quite busy. I have to fix my car tomorrow after work. I plan one of my next videos to be finishing up the 'proofs of god' that I started here a while back. I reckon I'll do it like an omnibus, and go through them in quick order.

Speaking of omnibus, I wonder if Ask a Ninja is still a thing. I guess I'll wonder until tomorrow...

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Scientists are convinced that our universe began with one enormous explosion of energy and light,

First of all, it wasn't an explosion of 'energy and light.' It was the literal expansion of the universe, which is time and space. Light is generally energy, after all.

which we now call the Big Bang.

Fair enough. Some do call it that. However, the universe is still expanding, it's just doing so at an ever-slower rate. Eventually it will expand so far that it will be infinitely thin with regard to time/space, but we can discuss that in another post if you like. Time's not linear, either, but we experience it that way. The center of the universe is the beginning of time. We might be getting off-track here, though.

This was the singular start to everything that exists: the beginning of the universe, the start of space, and even the initial start of time itself.

Fair enough. I mean, technically, the initial singularity existed for an infinite time before the expansion. There was never a 'time' it wasn't there. It was just infinitely dense, meaning that time had no medium to move through, and matter had no time to move through. However, I'm getting long in the tooth over this point.

Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic,

Most people are agnostic. That deals with knowledge, not belief.

stated, "The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion...The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen."9

Here's a link to that reference. It was first delivered in 1949. Here's the closing two paragraphs of that address:

"Some say still that if the astronomer cannot find that cause today, he will find it tomorrow, and we will read about it in the New York Times when Walter Sullivan gets around to reporting on it. But I think the circumstances of the Big Bang-the fiery holocaust that destroyed the record of the past-make that extremely unlikely.

"This is why it seems to me and to others that the curtain drawn over the mystery of creation will never be raised by human efforts, at least in the foreseeable future. Although I am an agnostic, and not a believer, I still find much to ponder in the view expressed by the British astronomer E. A. Milne, who wrote, "We can make no propositions about the state of affairs [in the beginning]; in the Divine act of creation God is unobserved and unwitnessed.

We knew nearly 60 years ago that we would probably discover the answer eventually. In context of the first quote up there, he was explicitly saying that they couldn't figure it out at that time. Using the quote out of context as she did is disingenuous at best and deceitful at worst.

Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, "the universe was about a hundred thousands million degrees Centigrade...and the universe was filled with light."10

The universe has not always existed. It had a start...what caused that? Scientists have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.

We do, actually, but she'll have to actually read more books that were printed after 1950. Krauss' "A Universe from Nothing," and Hawking's "A Brief History of the Universe" are recommended.

3. Does God exist? The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?

For one, what other way would you presume it should act? Sure, they seem to be consistent every time. We've never observed them being broken.

Much of life may seem uncertain, but look at what we can count on day after day: gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a counter will get cold, the earth rotates in the same 24 hours, and the speed of light doesn't change -- on earth or in galaxies far from us.

Mostly correct. Notice how none of those were revelations from any god, by the way. Also, the earth is perpetually slowing down about 1.4 milliseconds per every hundred years or so. The earth was probably spinning around it's axis every 12 hours or so a few billion years ago. Of course, the earth was a bit smaller back then too.

How is it that we can identify laws of nature that never change? Why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?

Well, if it weren't ordered as we see it, we'd try to find the order in the disorder, and check that. People used to (not even four centuries ago) think that the sun went around the earth, as did all the stars and everything. We even had models which made that consistent. It didn't stop them from being wrong. Same way with god. You can say 'god just makes it so,' but that doesn't make it so.

"The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn't have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence."11

This is from Dinesh D'Souza's book "What's so great about Christianity?" However, he hits the nail on the head here. There's no reason it has to be the way it is; it simply happens that it is this way.

Granted, a universe with inconsistent laws would probably collapse upon itself or something, but there's also nothing preventing another infinite combination of stable universes, either. We have no way of observing them anyway, so we don't know what the limits are, if there are any at all. We certainly can't test for any god if he's not in the universe, the same as we can't test for any other universes.

Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery...The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle."12

Let's see what else Feynman has to say, shall we?

Also, she didn't even address why the universe is the way it is. She just quoted some stuff out of context.

4. Does God exist? The DNA code informs, programs a cell's behavior.

I've also touched on this one before as well. Basically this whole argument is summed up in one sentence:

Where did your god come from? Also, who's to say we cant? This is what's called a baseless assertion. Remember, it's an error of Reification, because the laws of the universe are descriptive, not prescriptive.

5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.

No, he's not. Thor has never visited me. Jesus has never patted me on the head. Quetzalcoatl has never asked me for the heart of a conquered man. Gilgamesh has never appeared to me and offered to get drunk together.

I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don't believe even exists?!

For exactly the same reason that theists try to make other theists not believe in any god but their own. We just simply don't have a god. You're an atheist in this regard, because by saying that Jesus is real, you're also saying every other god isn't real. You're also working to both ends simultaneously.

I didn't realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue.

This is a dangerous statement, saying that god compelled you to do something. Is that really a good lead-off for you?

The rest of point five is useless waffle. Still no defense of the points being made.

6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us.

So the question of whether or not god exists is evidence for if god exists or not. That level of mental gymnastics made me dizzy, so lets sit down for a moment.

Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets.

Buddha specifically told people he wasn't a god. The Analects of Confucius are filled with anecdotes about not making baseless claims, and respecting your lack of knowledge. Atheist teachers, in a way.

None of them ever claimed to be equal to God.

No, but lots of people have claimed it. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Kim Jong-Un, the queen of England. All claim divine lineage.

Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you're looking at him.

Fine. I say god exists, and he's writing this blog post so you'll understand he doesn't actually exist. Do you see how ineffectual your argument is?

Looking at all these facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal way.

No. I can simply apply your argument to literally any other person because yours is an argument from authority fallacy. Kim Jong-un claims to be born of god, literally. Are you going to believe him just because he says it?

I hope my points have been clear.
As always, this is Rev. J.R., signing off.

The message many gays and lesbians hear is that God hates you. See why this is not true.

Well, it's a reasonably clear message in the bible, but please continue! I'm sure this won't be offensive at all. Disclaimer: I'm only tearing apart some of it for now. Please read the full thing for the whole context.

Life often demands certain qualifications. To get a driver's license, you have to pass a test. To land a certain job, you must show that you have the credentials deserving of that job.

Cool. What has this to do with the point? I thought you were going to tell us we don't need qualifications. Full disclosure: I'm asexual. I simply don't find anyone attractive like that.

Unlike anything else you have encountered, a relationship with God does not begin with you filling in the blank, "Accept me because..."

Really? Go tell that to the folks who say that if you don't accept Jesus, you'll go to hell. Maybe that's not the kind of thing you meant?

It starts with God saying, "I accept you." "I welcome you."

Well then let him get on with it already.

Whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or have questions,

"Ours" does indeed imply we, and since he's not an enemy to you, you're technically correct. He's not our enemy, he is mine. Something like that.

If you have not already begun one, God wants a relationship with you.

If he wants it, he can call first. I'm not desperate.

He offers this to anyone and everyone.

Well, according to you.

In Scripture, you'll see only one group that consistently angered Jesus...the religious self-righteous.

"Oh yeah, Jesus will totally take you because I say so. I think my ideas are right and just, and so should you! Those self-righteous people are just wrong, because I'm clearly right..."

Jesus seemed comfortable around everyone else, including prostitutes and criminals. However, the religious elite irritated and saddened Jesus. He saw them as judgmental, arrogant, unloving, and hypocritical.

Yeah, it's not elitist at all to say that it's easier for the camel to thread a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. There's absolutely no elitism in calling fruitless people useless like a dead fig tree. There was absolutely nothing elitist about sitting at the right hand of god. I mean, everyone makes that claim, right?

You might see those words and immediately think of religious people who have been hurtful, rude or judgmental toward you. Does that represent Jesus' heart? No.

Yeah, Luke 19:27 never really happened, right guys?

Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. How would hurtful comments fit into that? Not very well.

Maybe I'm into BDSM. I wonder if you discuss that... Back in a second.

Nope. Not directly anyway.

Have you ever had a chance to seriously consider Jesus?

Have you? It certainly sounds like you haven't considered him very hard.

Unlike any other person who has ever lived, Jesus can explain life to you...how to experience life, more abundantly. He is the Creator of all that exists, yet became a man, so that we could know him, know God.

Well, then hopefully he'll make that first call I mentioned and we can chat!

"Grace" isn't a word we use much.

Why do non-hetero non-cis people, as a class, need grace again?

I used to wonder what it takes to be accepted by God. Perhaps you'll be as amazed as I was. Here it is:

Then he puts John 3:16. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was a younger, hipper, almost pleasant Jack Chick. Almost.

Did you catch it? "Whoever believes in him." Whoever believes in him has eternal life.

Cool! Unless, you know, your religion is wrong.

The next couple paragraphs are waffle. Then there's this gem.

He offered proof. Jesus had already done what no human could do, instantly healing those who were blind, couldn't walk, or who struggled with diseases.

That's right, Jesus will fu... fix the gay right out of you. Or something. Is it really a disability if a man likes penises?

Yet Jesus went far beyond that. He said, on numerous occasions, that he would be arrested, beaten, and crucified...and three days later rise from the dead.

No. That's someone making up a story. Hundreds of years after the alleged events. It's exactly as if I said, right now, that JFK told me he predicted his own death. Jesus is further removed from the four gospels than I am from JFK.

You can go through this life knowing you are loved by God.

You mean, god loves us, but not unconditionally? How interesting.

Everyone hungers to be loved.

No, not everyone. I'm quite content just having some good friends. It works for me.

Human love is important.

-some human

Yet every person who loves you, loves you imperfectly, because people are imperfect.But God is able to love you perfectly. He loves us because it is his nature to love, and it never changes, never stops.

So we weren't created in his image. Also interesting.

We all mess up. We all fail to live up to our own standards, let alone God's standards. But God doesn't accept us based on our performance.

Since the context is specifically homosexuality, I'm going to presume that you are discussing it thus.

Homosexuality isn't a mistake, it's just a natural biological process.

Do you see how self-defeating your own argument is?

"Jesus will love you, but you're a miserable fuck-up"

Would that kind of message convert you to another religion?

The more important the relationship, the greater impact it has.So, it makes sense that knowing God is going to be a significant relationship.

If it's so significant, why can't he initiate it? If I actually have free will not to believe in him, why won't he just show himself?

He will lead your life according to his love and his desires for your life.

I presume that means that you think homosexuals aren't living the right way. Your message is really confusing.

So there's no special requirements, you don't need to fill in the blank part of "accept me because..." However, if you want to be accepted, you must fill it in.

You still make decisions. You maintain your free will. He does not take over your life, forcing you to act as he wants.

Now you're just being facetious.

A couple of months after asking Jesus into my life, my closest friend asked me, "Have you noticed a change in your life?" And I said, "What do you mean?" She said, "Lately I can share things with you and you don't make jokes. You seem to be really listening to me."I was kind of embarrassed. I mean, here's my closest friend telling me that I was finally acting like a decent human being and listening to her!

Now you're telling me the only reason you're not a complete asshole is because you fear hellfire?

Interesting indeed.

And I guess my emotional need for love was met by God on such a deep level, that I became more of an emotionally secure person.

It sounds as though you would simply have accepted any comforting myth, though. That's a dangerous mentality, and there are people who can help you come to terms with it. Living your life in constant fear of hellfire just because you find other women attractive isn't a healthy thing. At least, I thought that sexuality was the context here.

Jesus promises us that as we let him teach us and guide us, he says, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

As though liking other people is something you should want to be set free from.

Most of Jesus' disciples (and many of Jesus' followers today) have gone through tremendous suffering. For example, Paul was frequently arrested, beaten with rods and whipped, countless times. Once he was nearly stoned to death by an angry mob. He was shipwrecked several times, many days without food, and fleeing for his life, often.Clearly, Jesus' followers didn't live easy lives. Yet Paul, and other believers, remained unshakeably convinced of God's love for them.

You do realize you're preaching to homosexuals, not to the (mentally or physically) infirm, right?

You don't plan your course. If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning your sexuality...if you will let him, Jesus will guide your life. And it's greater than what you could imagine. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

I thought you said your bigotry was subsiding. You said earlier god has no problem with homosexuality, so why are you acting like people need to change from the darkness and stuff?

Here's how you can begin a relationship with God, right now.Whatever you've done in your life, Jesus offers you his complete forgiveness. Our sin wasn't merely overlooked.

Sexuality isn't sinful because sin doesn't exist.

He says that THIS is the relationship that satisfies us. We never were meant to go through this life without him.

Jesus sounds like a clingy boyfriend or something.

You can talk to him using whatever words you want.

Is that really the best way to end this? I mean, I can think of a lot of words you'd probably not like me to use, either alone or in combinations.

"Dear Jesus who doesn't exist, come into this poor misguided soul's life, and show her that sexuality isn't something to be ashamed of!"

• We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament Scripture alone to be verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original text, and that they alone are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.

So you believe the entire thing is literally true. Excellent!

• We believe in one God who is Creator of heaven and earth, who is infinite Spirit, light, love, and truth; eternal, almighty, infallible in all things, including His foreknowledge of all future events as well as all free choices; that He is unchangeable, all wise, just, and holy; and that the triune God eternally exists in one essence and three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Well, according to genesis, there are multiple gods, because god spoke to himself in the plural.

He doesn't have infinite knowledge because he doesn't seem to know quite a few things that would have been very helpful to his ascetics.

• We believe in the special creation of the entire space-time universe and of every basic form of life in the six days recorded in the Genesis creation record. We also believe in the historicity of the Biblical record, including the special creation of Adam and Eve as the literal progenitors of all people, the literal fall and resultant divine curse on the creation, the worldwide flood, and the origin of nations and diverse languages at the tower of Babel.

God didn't actually create the universe, so you just refuted your 'literal' interpretation from point one.

Also, did plants and animals come before humans (Gen. 1) or after (Gen. 2)?

Similarly, what of the land of Nod, from which Cain took his wife?

• We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Eternal Word manifested in the flesh. We believe that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and that He is true God and true man, having two distinct natures co-joined in one Person.

Since you believe that all three are people, doesn't that mean that Mary can't possibly have been a virgin?

• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of every human being and thus offers salvation as a free gift based on grace alone.

Jesus, being literally god, killed himself for your sins. Well, that's one way to go about it.

• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead in the same physical body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died, and that His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which will be given to all believers at the return of Christ.

ZOMBIE JESUS!

• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven in the same glorified physical body in which He arose, was seated at His Father's right hand, assuring us of the perfection of His work of redemption, and that He now, as Head over all things to the Church, is engaged on behalf of the saved as their only Advocate.

So his body literally went up into the clouds, after he died and came back to life, but the Romans never wrote this down at the time? The leaders of ancient Rome didn't see this spectacle, and immediately convert? How bizarre. If I saw that, I'd probably change my mind, and I'm about as atheist as they come.

• We believe in the personal, imminent, and premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones followed by His 1,000 year reign on Earth.

There's going to be 1000 years of Jesus reigning by proxy, then another thousand years of him reigning not by proxy. Well, that's a nice, safe claim we don't have to worry about for another fifty generations. Let us know what day it begins though, so we can count and be sure.

• We believe that man was originally created in the image and likeness of God, and that he fell through sin; and that as a consequence of his sin, he became dead in trespasses and sins, and that he became subject to the power of the devil. We also believe that this spiritual death, or depravity of human nature, has been transmitted to the entire human race, the Man Christ Jesus alone being excepted; and hence that every child of Adam is born into the world with a corrupt, sinful nature.

The forty days he spent in the woods, he allegedly didn't give into the devil. Since you're a literal interpreter, show us the verses where the devil got the better of him. We'll be waiting.

• We believe that only those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior on the condition of faith alone, apart from all good works, are thereby born again of the Holy Spirit, are justified once and for all, and have become children of God.

This one always gets me. Charlie Manson could have a ton of faith in your god, and he'd get to go to heaven, but the children who die before they're too old to even think about it go straight to hell.

If it were true, I would believe it. However, it doesn't appear to be. Then again, terrorists of all stripes use the exact same justification for their actions, from helping the poor (good stuff) to beheading infidels or burning witches (clearly not good stuff).

• We believe that the Holy Spirit, being the Third Person of the Godhead, convicts men of sin, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and sets believers apart to a holy life; that He keeps and empowers believers day by day. We believe that He is the Teacher of the Word of God through which He guides us in our daily lives.

You know the interesting thing about the trinity? It means you believe in a pantheon. Did you realize there are other gods mentioned in the bible, which your god supposedly false? He's not saying they weren't real. He's saying their adherents are simply wrong, or that their story is. This means your god has had literal contact (if we take the bible literally) with all the other gods mentioned in the bible, like Baal and Ashtoreth.

• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted only two ordinances: water baptism and the Lord's Supper, to be observed until He comes. We believe that water baptism is not necessary for salvation but that it is an outward symbol of salvation and a sign of our obedience to Him.

Well, your belief doesn't stop you from being wrong. Jesus commanded a lot of things: tithing, giving to the poor, giving up worldly possessions, not charging interest to others of the same religion, being a good Samaritan in all things, and going forth to multiply your earnings. Jesus even taught that you don't have to do a full day's work to get a full day's pay (Matt. 20)

• We believe that the universal Church of Jesus Christ is composed of those who have been redeemed and washed in His blood, regenerated and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that they are saved to worship and to serve; that it is the responsibility and privilege of all who are saved to seek to win others to Christ, to the "uttermost part of the earth"; that they should seek to live a holy life, to separate themselves from and forsake all that might dishonor God, cast discredit on His cause, or weaken their testimony.

Now wait a moment. You just said evangelism wasn't one of those ordinances. Make up your mind.

• We believe that there is a personal devil, a being of great cunning and power, who is "the prince and the power of the air," "the prince of this world," and "the god of this age." We believe that he can exert vast power but only as far as God permits him to do so; that he shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night forever.

Great. Now you're stealing the idea from the Koran. Personal devils originate from the stories of Muhammad, not the bible. Also, if you believe god allows the devil to work, that's basically saying that god condones whatever happens in the world, or is complicit at the very least. Similarly, the devil punishes bad people: why would god punish him for that? Your dogma is much too complex.

Just once wouldn't you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.

Sure would, presuming there actually is any.

But first consider this. When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God.

Yeah, the bible does like making stuff up.

On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you."

Which is to say, that no one has ever searched, otherwise we'd have some pretty clear evidence.

Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him? Here then, are some reasons to consider...

Why does the author think it would matter if I want to know him or not. I know that lots of bad people exist, regardless of the fact that I don't like them.

1. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.

Many examples showing God's design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:

Well, this ought to be interesting.

The Earth...its size is perfect.

Not really. We are currently looking to colonize other plants in the next century because this one isn't big enough.

The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth's surface.

If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury.

Mercury has an atmosphere, it's just not like ours. Mostly though, it's lacks an atmosphere like ours because of it's proximity to the sun, not because it's small.

If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.3

See that tiny superscript 3? It links to a book from 1946, which appears to be nothing more than a tract of some sort. In fact, there only appear to be two copies of it in the entire OPLIN network. Let me tell you, we did not have a very good understanding of space at that point. Partly because we'd only had very simple airplanes (by comparison with today), and partly because Sputnik didn't even launch until 11 years later, in 1957.

Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

So close, yet so far. What it should say is we've got the only know planet that can support life as it developed here. Don't forget, there are creatures which can only live at the bottom of the ocean in extreme temps and pressures. The atmosphere of earth a couple billion years ago lacked most of its oxygen, and would have kill most aerobic creatures today. Plants had a really great time, though.

The Earth is located the right distance from the sun.

Well, for one, our orbit is slightly eccentric. That's part of the reason we get seasons.

Generally, the places that get one don't typically get much of the other. Also, it's generally not a swing, but a steady change over the course of a year. The average day anywhere doesn't change more than about 10-30 degrees.

If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze.

We know this is false. There's a reasonably wide range that a planet could potentially exist in and still support our kind of life. There's an even larger band that could potentially support some form of life. If being further away would kill us, we wouldn't be trying to go to Mars.

Any closer and we would burn up.

No. Venus didn't become a land of toxic clouds of molten/vaporized metals because it was too close to the sun. It became that way because of the distribution of elements it happened to receive.

Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible.

It is also rotating on its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

Some parts, not all. The equatorial zone is perpetually warmer for many reason, not the least of which is because it receives the most sunlight.

And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull.

Well, what did you expect? The calculations don't change just because the size does. Gravity can't just magically be different from what it is.

The moon creates important ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate,

Without the tides, the earth would still have ocean currents from the heat of the sun.

and yet our massive oceans are restrained from spilling over across the continents.4

That has more to do with our gravity than the moon's. It also has to do with the quantity of water on the earth. Similarly, it also has to do with the height of the land masses on the earth. You're saying it's odd that something 1/4 the diameter of the earth, with a much lower density (and thereby gravity), somehow has a reasonably small effect on Earth.

Also, that citation number four is to a book from the Moody Creation Institute.

Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it.

Fair enough. Everything on earth evolved in the presence of water, and it happens to be very hand to most metabolic processes. We would indeed die without it.

Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:

However, there's nothing that says that water is necessary for life, just that it's necessary for our life.

Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.

Wrong. It's our circulatory tract that allows for that. We are endothermic, but most things are not

Water is a universal solvent.

Then dissolve some oil, alcohol, or sand into it. Go ahead, try it. I'll be here.

This property of water means that various chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.5

Well, naturally, our body isn't going to make blood vessels smaller than we can use them, apart from the occasional defect of disease or genetic malfunction. Citation 5 goes to the Moody book too.

Water is also chemically neutral.

There's two reasons for this. First, it happens to be useful as a reference, so we reference from it. Second, it happens to have the traits that make it an acid (H+) and an alkaline (OH-). So, technically correct.

water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.

If they are water soluble, then it certainly helps. However, lots of things are only fat soluble, and water isn't helpful there.

Water has a unique surface tension.

Citation needed.

Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity,

Because of capillary action, not because of magic water. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four forces. That's like saying a siphon is special because it uses basically the same premise.

bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.

Again, look up xylem and phloem.

It's a series of tubes!

Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.

Generally this is true of water that's outside, because the surface cools much quicker than the water below ground level. In a uniformly cold environment, water just kinda freezes from wherever the nucleation site is.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans.

Correct!

But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe.Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people.

Basically correct, except one correction. It's not 'for' any purpose. It just happens, and we take advantage of it. Kinda like evolution in that regard. It's almost like we adapted to the environment, more than the environment was adapted to us.

It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.6

Some things can't live in freshwater. Some things can't live without brackish or saltwater. Same Moody link, if you hadn't guessed already.

The human brain...simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information.

Now the author's gone completely off-track. This has very little to do with any of the other points here. The human brain does happen to be the most powerful of all the creatures we've discovered so far, but dolphins probably give us a run for our money.

Your brain holds and processes all your emotions, thoughts and memories. At the same time your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.

Basically correct. Wouldn't be much use to evolve complex limbs if we didn't have some way to utilize them.

The human brain processes more than a million messages a second.7

Same Moody book. Humans are pretty versatile though, and our brains do go pretty fast. However, our brains also fail quite often and do so really fast. It's not a simple win-win. Thinking, about anything, even if you're not aware of it, takes massive amounts of energy.

Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant.

Sometimes, yes, and sometimes no. Just watch The Rain Man and remember that it's based on a real person. Also check out the story of Daniel Tammet.

This screening function is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world.

You know, except when it doesn't happen.

The brain functions differently than other organs.

Well, yes. Most organs function differently from most other organs. The heart is nothing like the muscles, and those are neither like the skin, and even different is your bones. This statement has no meaning in this context.

There is an intelligence to it, the ability to reason, to produce feelings, to dream and plan, to take action, and relate to other people.

Yes, because those are useful traits for reaching the age where one can mate. It also makes civilized society much easier. If you break the rules, you can end up in prison, and not mate with others. If our brains hadn't had those selection pressures, we would have turned out differently.

The eye...can distinguish among seven million colors.

In some people, yes. There are actually people who have receptors for a fourth wavelength.

It has automatic focusing and handles an astounding 1.5 million messages -- simultaneously.8

Yeah, probably, but the vast majority are subconscious. It's not as though you can run Skyrim in your head. Yet. Also, here's what citation 8 looks like. Also, page 125, 127, and 158 make mentions of how many receptors there are. The wording used in the above quote is very misleading.

Evolution focuses on mutations and changes from and within existing organisms.

Well, only partially. Evolution doesn't have any focus, seeing as how it's a description of how things work. Also, if a mutation is harmful, it generally eliminates its host from the gene pool. If it isn't detrimental to mating, however, then the gene might carry on, even if it's completely useless.

Yet evolution alone does not fully explain the initial source of the eye or the brain

Sunday, July 3, 2016

It has come to my attention that some videos are being demonitized with no reasons given. My friend Oskar Jungell recently had one demonitized in this fashion. It's happened since the new Terms of Service have been instituted on YouTube. It seems that YouTube is having a very difficult struggle with understanding how free speech and fair use actually work.

Does this look like it should be punished to you?On second though, let's keep that question rhetorical.

Fair use allows for the critique, in part or in whole, of the works of others, regardless of the copyright claims on them. A copyright claim only protects a user from having their video copied verbatim, or used in a manner that doesn't coincide with free speech.

It's important to note that, under United States law (since that's where Google is headquartered, and still has probably the majority of its servers) it is illegal for anyone to file a false DMCA request. By selectively singling out certain kinds of videos that YouTube finds unfavorable, but not others of the same kind, YouTube is creating a double standard in this regard.

The Terms of Service are much too broad now, and things that should legitimately not be affected by it are. Meanwhile, things that should clearly be taken down as a violation (like the sort of video 'responses' that GradeAUnderA talked about a short while ago), are being given a basic sort of free reign.

Grade is clearly an expert.

Give your views to his longing chin.

Let's make YouTube Great Again! I'm gonna try to get a #RevertTOS thunderclap going for two weeks from now.

As it's related, I wanted to make one final point regarding gender identity. The video claims, over and over, that the machine is the one determining genders. Red or blue, as they put it. However, the woman narrating the video is actually the one determining new genders. She's arguing, in exactly the same way as the strawman piece of crap she created, that we should actually divide the lines finer and have a more diverse set of genders. This argument is made in the same breath as the implication that having these genders in the first place is wrong somehow.

It's no wonder followers of Buzzfeed get so confused. I'd be confused too if I were simultaneously complaining about the establishment of gender groups while simultaneously establishing new gender groups.

About Me

My name is Josh, and I am a full-time factory worker with an interest in writing, knitting, photography, computers, cycling and lots of other things. I'm 30 years old.

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Literative.com

I have started entering submissions into a weekly short-story writing contest. My first winning entry was for the contest of September 25, 2015. There are lots of great authors there, too!

I have since won a few more. If you're interested in reading my short story winning entries, I'll keep links to them here. I'm also active on the forums there, so keep an eye out. You never know when I'll write something interesting. I'll probably compile my works into a book someday if people are interested.